Calling In Sick
by Artsy Werewolf
Summary: Why isn't Tai going to work today?  A sort of bittersweet Taishiro.  Got the idea for this from a joke I read online, and this story just kind of happened.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, or anything related to it.**

Calling In Sick**  
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The redhead next to me is just barely stirring from his sleep. This is one of my favorite times to see him. He looks so young and innocent; the way that I know him, although he rarely shows that face to the world. To everyone else, he is Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi, calculating and logical computer genius. But to me he's Kou, the goofy, adorable, easy-going love of my life.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." I give him a soft kiss on his nose. He smiles beneath me, and slowly opens his eyes.

"'Morning Tai-kun," he mumbles. "What time is it?"

I glance over at the clock. "A little after eight, why?"

Izzy sits up straighter. "Wait, don't you have work today? Shouldn't you have left by now?"

I bite my tongue. I already told him what my boss said, but he doesn't seem to understand the implications. So what if my boss said I'm sick? I still ought to be going to work, right?

"Izzy..." I sigh.

Understanding dawns on his face, and he looks up at me. "But, your boss doesn't _know_, right? And even if he did, why should you miss work?"

I turn away. "He said I was sick, Izzy." I speak bitterly now. I never knew my emotions could change so fast. "He said that I was sick, and that we're an abomination. He said that God hates gays." I try to fight it, but my voice breaks on the last word. "Well, not the God that I know. And if that's who God is, well..." My body shakes with tears. "I'm sorry, I just don't know how to deal with this."

His arms encompass me and hold me close to him. I can't help it; I start sobbing into his shoulder.

"Tai..." he whispers, but I can't even respond now.

He hold me there for what seems like hours, until my shaking stops and I hiccup away the last of my tears.

"I'm sorry I brought that up, Kou, I know..." I trail off, not wanting to bring up painful memories. After Izzy came out to his family, they brought him to their priest to try and "fix" him. When that didn't work, they kicked him out. At least one good thing came from that: we now live together.

Izzy hasn't spoken, waiting patiently for me to collect my thoughts.

"It's just hard," I say at last. "I mean, I always knew there would be people out there who didn't agree with us, with _this_, but... I guess I never thought Joe would be one of them."

Joe is my boss, the one I'd turned to when I couldn't find a place to work. We hadn't spoken in years, since he started college, I think, but he was still the reliable Joe that I remembered. He hooked me up with a job doing office work for him. I'm just doing it until something better turns up.

"Well, you were never really happy with that job, right?" Izzy asks me gently. "Now is your chance to get out there and find something that you want to do."

I nod with a sniffle. He stays with me for a few more minutes, then gets up to make breakfast. It occurs to me that I never let Joe know that I wouldn't be in today. With a bittersweet smile, I pick up the phone from next to the bed and dial Joe's number. He picks up after one ring.

"Taichi, _where are you_?" he demands. "You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago!"

"Yeah, about that," I reply. "I'm actually calling in sick today."

"What?" he asks, sounding bewildered. "But you were fine yesterday, and you sound fine today."

"Well, you see Joe, I'm gay." I hear his gasp on the other end of the phone, and quickly speak. "And you yourself, a _doctor_, said that homosexuality is a sickness. So, I won't be able to come in to work today. Last I checked, I'm still one hundred percent gay."

I can hear him fumbling on the other end, and can practically see the cogs turning in his head.

"Bye, Joe!" I say cheerfully, and hang up the phone. I've never been more happy to be sick.

**A/N: Wow, this is MUCH different than I'd planned. I was originally going to do a humor fic, with Tai and Izzy laughing at Tai calling in "sick". But I'm definitely happy with how it turned out, because it feels more real this way.**

**Thoughts? Feel free to let me know! Thanks for reading!  
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